Andhra: Tribal women protest cashew crop destruction, stage ‘mock suicide’ protest

The tribals said they would be left with no choice but to end their lives if the destruction of their cashew plantations was not halted.

Anakapalli: Tribal women farmers of Andhra Pradesh alleging destruction of their cashew plantations at Urlova village of V Madugula Mandal in the Anakapalli District of the state staged a symbolic protest in which they imitated the act of suicide by hanging. During the protest on Thursday, the women enacted hanging by tying one end of cloth to their necks and the other end to the branches of a tree.

The tribals said they would be left with no choice but to end their lives if the destruction of their cashew plantations was not halted. They have alleged that the mining company representatives, with the support of the revenue officials, were destroying their cashew plantations with JCB machines. The tribals have also claimed that they have been raising the same issue for the past several years.

However, the representatives of the mining company and the revenue officials have claimed that the tribals have taken money from the company. Refuting the claim, the tribals said that they were dependent on the cashew plantations for their livelihood and ‘D’ pattas were issued to them in the past.

The tribals have demanded an immediate probe into the matter by an IAS officer and have said that if their demands are not looked into, they plan to stage a protest at the Anakapalli Collectorate on April 11.

(With agency inputs)